Tracking the Legacy of "Inner-City" Catholic Schools: An Analysis of U.S. Elementary Catholic School Organizational and Demographic Data

Authors

Andrew F. Miller, Boston CollegeFollow
Annie Smith, Catholic Schools Support Network, Boston Schools FundFollow
Kierstin M. Giunco, Boston CollegeFollow
Audrey A. Friedman, Boston CollegeFollow
Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Boston CollegeFollow
Charles T. Cownie III, Boston CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Abstract

Over the past twenty years, Catholic elementary schools that self-identify as “inner-city” have closed at a higher rate than Catholic schools in other locations. These schools have also long been associated with a legacy of effectively serving low-income students, students of color, and recent immigrant students, suggesting that the persistent closure of these schools may have a negative impact on these communities. In this paper, we set out to assess the extent to which there have been demographic or organizational changes over the past twenty years in these “inner-city” schools. We found that while these schools do still serve higher proportions of students of color than Catholic schools nationally, there are distinct organizational and demographic trends that have developed in these schools that merit additional analysis or investigation. We conclude this paper with several suggestions for how to build a research agenda around this up-to-date demographic and organizational analysis of this segment of U.S. Catholic elementary schools.

Comments

This article is anticipated to be published in the next issue of the Journal of Catholic Education

Repository Citation

Miller, A.F., Smith, A., Giunco, K.M., Friedman, A.A., Rosen-Reynoso, M., & Cownie, C.T., III. (2023). Tracking the legacy of "inner-city" Catholic schools: An analysis of U.S. elementary Catholic school organizational and demographic data. Journal of Catholic Education. Advanced Online Publication.